Archives for June 27, 2008

Engel – Absolute Design

June 27, 2008 by Rich Leave a Comment

Gothenburg in Sweden is a city very well known for its melodic death metal music, it’s an absolute breeding ground for bands of this sort and it should therefore come as no surprise that this is exactly where the band Engel hails from. The band blends brilliantly the genres of melodic death metal and industrial metal also with this, the debut album from Engel that is ‘Absolute Design’. The album consists of twelve tracks and was produced by Anders Fridén (singer of the band In Flames).

Engel is a band which consists of two incredibly talented guitarists; Marcus Sunesson is an ex-member of the band The Crown whilst Niclas Engelin has been in such bands as Gardenian, In Flames, and Passenger also. Their experience shines through throughout this album, always the guitar work is excellent here and this I feel is a defining element and feature of the bands sound. The guitar riffs are incredibly powerful, the band is hugely energetic in its approach, and vocally also the music always has much to offer here. An industrial edge can certainly be felt at all times, particularly in the dirty guitar work that the tracks so often possess; it’s a fine sound and one that is very well put across by the band here.

Engel could be seen as a metal supergroup of sorts, all of the bands members have been involved in various other musical projects over the years and now they are bringing their joint excellence together in this fine five-piece band that is Engel. The drum work is powerful, the bass lines work well in the bands sound, and vocally the Engel sound always is exceptional. Mangan Klavborn is the bands vocalist, a former member of the band Headplate and never here does his vocal style cease to impress. This isn’t the best melodic death metal album ever, it’s pretty good though and the industrial element certainly adds edge and depth to the music.

If you’re after an authentic Gothenburg melodic death metal album then Engel’s ‘Absolute Design’ isn’t a bad album to listen to. This debut release from the band always is excellent; the thirteen tracks present on this album are all brutally heavy and both instrumentally and vocally impressive also. I’d certainly recommend listening to tracks such as ‘Scyth’ and ‘Next Closed Door’ from this album, with these tracks the music of Engel always offers plenty and the sound created by the band is pretty much faultless. There are better metal albums out there than this, ‘Absolute Design’ is however one of the best metal albums to have emerged in 2007 and given that this was only the first album from the band I think it’s safe to say that we can expect a lot more from Engel in the not too distant future.

Label: SPV Records
Release Date: November 5th 2007

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Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Tarja – My Winter Storm

June 27, 2008 by Rich Leave a Comment

‘My Winter Storm’ is the second studio album from Tarja Turunen, a supreme singing sensation who fronted the symphonic power metal band Nightwish between the years of 1996 and 2005. It’s a stunning eighteen track piece of art; an incredibly well structured album and one that I’d highly recommend to all. If you like the music of Nightwish then chances are that you’ll absolutely love what you find here, it’s more of the same really (only this album from Tarja is far better than anything Nightwish has recorded and released for a long while).

The album storms into action with ‘I Walk Alone’, a four minute power piece with an exquisitely fine chorus to boot. The operatic singing voice of Tarja comes shining through here, this is the most prominent sound that can here be heard and the atmospheric instrumental backing provided here is absolutely stunning. With every passing track the sound created here just seems to get more and here the eighteen tracks of this album are highly impressive pieces of music.

‘My Winter Storm’ is a symphonic metal album of the highest order, the classical vocal sound of Tarja is stunning throughout the entirety of this release and every track here comes complete with a phenomenal instrumental opener. The music builds for roughly one minute with each and every track before the vocals of Tarja Turunen are thrown into the mix also, the album works incredibly well and every track present here stands out strongly as you listen to this fine solo release from Tarja.

Tarja even manages to fit an Alice Cooper cover in here in the form of ‘Poison’. I’ve always been a huge fan of ‘Poison’, Tarja certainly does the track proud here and puts a wonderful new spin on the classic Alice Cooper track. It’s not exactly as powerful as the original, it’s still quite interesting to hear Tarja Turunen’s take on the track however and her beautiful voice compliments the instrumental backing fantastically well here.

If you liked Nightwish when Tarja Turunen was the lead vocalist of the band then chances are that you will love what you find here with this ‘My Winter Storm’ release. Featured here are eighteen incredible tracks from the fine Finnish singer, the fact that this album achieved gold status in Finland on the very day of its release speaks for itself I feel; it’s such an exceptional album from the hugely talented Tarja Turunen. The album has now achieved platinum status in Finland and gold status in Russia also, it’s a fine second album from Tarja Turunen as a solo artist and one that I personally would highly recommend investing in.

Label: Universal Music
Release Date: November 19th 2007

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Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.

Throwdown – Venom and Tears

June 27, 2008 by Rich Leave a Comment

‘Venom and Tears’ is the 2007 album release from the straight-edge metalcore band that is Throwdown. The album consists of 13 tracks and this provides for 49 minutes of music. This is the fifth studio album from the California based band and does I feel provide for quite an interesting overall listening experience. The tracks all sound fairly similar, it’s quite a well put together album of music however and those that like a good bit of thrash metal should definitely appreciate this album from the band.

The guitar work is excellent here, the vocals also are very well put across in the bands sound and the combination play of vocals and instrumental element works incredibly well. There are some powerful guitar riffs put across in the bands sound, the drum work also is frantically paced and this therefore provides for a hugely entertaining listening experience. The music is always heavy, and with every passing track the band shows itself to be incredibly instrumentally proficient.

The fact that all the tracks sound incredibly similar here does I feel detract away from the overall quality of the album, ‘Venom and Tears’ is by no means a bad album but a little bit of variation would certainly not go amiss. From first track ‘Holy Roller’ right through to penultimate anthem ‘Godspeed’ there is really no telling the tracks apart, all the tracks seem to blend together as one as you listen to this album and this is a definite area of improvement for the band to focus on.

The final track on this album is actually a cover of the Sepultura track ‘Propaganda’, this therefore provides for a little bit of variation on the album; not much however. Throwdown very much make this track their own, you can tell it’s a cover in that it sounds a little different from the rest of the album; Throwdown have certainly put their own individual spin on this track though and it therefore comes across extremely well as the closing track of this ‘Venom and Tears’ album. The powerful guitars are present as ever and the vocals also are incredibly well shouted out by the band here, there are some super drum fills and this ‘Propaganda’ closing track certainly provides this album with a fine finale.

‘Venom and Tears’ is certainly not the best album to have been released in the genre of thrash metal, it’s not even the best album that Throwdown has ever released actually; it’s worth a listen though, particularly if thrash metal is your favourite style of sound. The bands roots are very much in the hardcore scene, over the years a more metal direction has been taken by the band however and here the music of Throwdown is even more metal than ever. The album possesses elements of metalcore, for the most part however its a pure blend of thrash and groove metal which is well done by the band albeit fairly unspectacularly. The tracks all sound incredibly similar here, this therefore holds back the overall quality of the album; if you can get over the fact that all the tracks sound pretty much the same though then plenty of enjoyment can be gained from listening to this ‘Venom and Tears’ album from Throwdown.

Label: Trustkill Records
Release Date: September 10th 2007

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Rich

UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.